Battery life: BYOD’s achilles heel?

I’m sure we’ve all experienced that cold sweat-inducing moment of panic: your laptop begins to flash ‘low battery’ in the middle of an important business meeting, causing you to stumble your way to the door in search of a charger. It’s not ideal. And despite this common occurrence and pressing need, laptop battery life still leaves a lot to be desired. That’s why I’ve been particularly interested in Intel’s promise of 50% longer batteries in their 4th generation Core processors, featured in laptops, notebooks and tablets.

This increase has been quantified as a battery life of up to nine hours for an average tablet running from an Intel Core processor, meaning users could officially leave their chargers at home and work from their portable device for a full working day, without needing to be anchored to a wall socket. Naturally, the actual battery life will depend on how the hardware manufacturer uses the Intel Core. However, as the processors are currently used by big names such as Acer and Dell, it is hoped that the true figures will not stray too far from those promised.

As a proponent of the BYOD movement, I’ve often experienced reluctance from those who see the battery life of portable devices – mobiles and laptops, in particular – as the main inhibitor. But with a 50% increase from Intel’s processors, and other manufacturers sure to follow suit, I think that we can expect to see a much more positive response from IT departments. The business benefits of BYOD are wide-reaching. Not only are employers not losing time to employees who are often out of the office at different regional sites, or customer premises, but employees are able to condense their business needs into one device, with employee satisfaction improving as a result. For that reason, I am looking forward to the announcement of similar improvements in smartphone battery life, and am excited to see Intel’s core resulting in tangible benefits for end-users and IT departments alike.